Sunday, December 26, 2004

On Life, Death, Bigotry, and Football

Yes, I know the man was a grade-A racist, homophobic asshole. Yes, I know he was a massive douche. But you know what? He didn't deserve this. No one deserves this. No matter how much we hate on the people in our life, no one- not even Fred Phelps- deserves death. And from what I heard over at Outsports, he may have realized that a lot of the things he said were bullshit and tried to apologize for them (warning: take with standard grain of salt).

So, yeah, I'm not glad he's dead. He said some stupid things, sure, and he may have been a bit of a bigot. But he's left behind a family that misses him. If you have to say something about the man, then say nothing. The freshly dead don't deserve anyone's scorn. Now, this?

"Reggie White was a gentle warrior who will be remembered as one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history," NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said. "Equally as impressive as his achievements on the field was the positive impact he made off the field and the way he served as a positive influence on so many young people."

Yeah, that's kinda scornworthy. Shut up, Paul Tagliabue.

UPDATE: And you shut up too, George Young. For those of you not watching the Pats-Jets game, they talked about how George Young, the guy who ran the Giants for a while, said that White reached out and tried to help people, and no matter what you thought about what he said, he tried to help people. Yeah, because the "ex"-gay movement helps so many people feel like utter shit. God, the NFL gives me an aneurysm sometimes.